1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to fastener driving tools.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Staplers are commonly used as tools for fastening paper, cardboard, fabric or other sheets of material to other similar sheets of material or to a substrate such as wood, plastic or the like. In other applications, staplers are used to attach elongated members, such as electrical wires, cables or tubes onto a substrate such as wood or other materials.
For example, it is common to tack electrical wires onto a workpiece or surface, such as a wall, a floor, a baseboard, or a wooden surface during the installation of electrical or electronic equipment. Conventional staplers may be used to tack a wire. However, conventional staplers eject a metal staple and in some instances a pointed edge of the staple may penetrate or lacerate the insulation of the wire or in other instances the metal bar of the stapler may crimp or cut through the cladding insulation of the conducting wire and as a result may damage the electrical characteristics of the conducting wire.
Other staplers exist that are directed to the application of tacking wire. Wire staplers resemble conventional staplers in many aspects, but some may be provided with an additional feature. Specifically, a notched extension may be provided towards the front end of a nose or body portion of the stapler, adjacent to the position at which a staple exits the stapler. The notched extension straddles the wire or elongated member so as to position the stapler relative to the elongated member and thus ensure that the staples points do not penetrate and thus damage the elongated member. In some instances, the guide may also be used to prevent the staples from seating flush on a surface, thus reducing the likelihood of cramping the wire during the operation of tacking.
For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,131,788 and 5,884,829 disclose such types of staplers. However, such patents disclose relatively complex guide structures. For example, the '788 patent requires a wire guide to be slidably fitted within a slot, with the wire guide being movable vertically between an upper vertical position and a lower vertical position. The '829 patent discloses an equally complex structure.